The University of Washington’s ADVANCE Center for Institutional Change received an award from the National Science Foundation ADVANCE program to hold professional development workshops for Ph.D.-level women in industry, research labs, consulting, or national labs who are interested in transitioning to academic careers in STEM. The first workshop will be held October 18- 20, 2009.

This workshop will be very helpful to women interested in making the transition to academia. The workshop speakers will primarily be successful women faculty members who began their post-Ph.D. careers in industry, research labs, consulting, or national labs. The attendees, speakers, and workshop organizers will form a community who can support each other during the job application period, the interview process, the startup negotiations, and the first years in academia.

Please note, this workshop is NOT designed for research faculty, PhD students, graduate students, or post-docs on university campuses. It is instead targeted toward women who hold Ph.D.s and are currently working in industry, research labs, consulting, or national labs.

The workshops will be limited to 30 participants. Registration is free and some travel funding for airfare and hotel will be available.

More good stuff after the jump.Feminist Press “Women Writing Science” and “Under the Microscope” Projects

Women Writing Science is a National Science Foundation-funded project of the Feminist Press at CUNY to encourage women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. The project takes a unique approach: using biography, fiction, and history­­­ to investigate the gendering of science and technology, and show how women have defied stereotypes to achieve success. Debut titles are now available at the Feminist Press website. These and other materials will also be available on Underthemicroscope.com, a pioneering social networking site sponsored by IBM, the CUNY Graduate Center, and the Feminist Press that connects women interested and involved in science and technology.

Gender Discrimination Info for Women and Men in Medicine

Linda Brodsky, MD “is a respected pediatric otolaryngologist who, after learning she was a victim of gender discrimination, took action and became an “accidental crusader” for pay equity and women’s rights.” She now has a new website designed to educate and inform women and men about gender discrimination. This looks to be a particularly useful resource for women and men in medicine.

ScienceBlogs Brazil brings together the most original and influential voices within the Brazilian science community, some of whom have already won accolades for their blogging. Edited from São Paulo by Carlos Hotta and Atila Iamarino, ScienceBlogs Brazil launches today with 23 Portuguese-language blogs on topics ranging from genetics to the environment. “I think we need people committed to raising scientific awareness in Brazil,” said Carlos Hotta, “and I am certain that ScienceBlogs Brazil will turn our local voices into global ones.”

With its growing science community and emphasis on science as a cornerstone of economic growth under a multi-year, multi-billion dollar Science, Technology and Innovation Plan of Action for National Development, Brazil is emerging as a vital player in global science culture. The country is the fifth most populous in the world and has over 67 million Internet users.

“We are thrilled with the growth of ScienceBlogs around the world and the rich conversation that it engenders,” said Fabien Savenay, Senior Vice President for Seed Media Group, the parent company of ScienceBlogs. “We are excited to now bring this conversation to South America.”

A series of radio programs about the changing role of girls and women in science and engineering–funded by the National Science Foundation–has won recognition as the winner of two 2009 Gracie Awards. These awards are made by American Women in Radio and Television, a non-profit organization that has worked since 1951 to improve the quality of broadcast programming and the image of women as depicted in radio, television and cable.

Produced by WAMC-Northeast Public Radio in Albany , New York , “The Sounds of Progress: The Changing Role of Girls and Women in Science and Engineering” is a two-part project. Part I is a series of eight stories that examine groundbreaking research and the implementation of research-based practices throughout the U.S. designed to increase the role of young girls and women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Part II offers 26 two-minute radio modules about fascinating women throughout history who were pioneers in STEM fields–from the first woman professor of physics in 18th-century Italy to a Civil War surgeon who was the first and only woman to be awarded the Medal of Honor–as well as stories researched and recorded by middle school-age girls about their favorite women in STEM.

The content of the site is now divided into four departments with subcategories in each, which makes for a total of 11 areas of coverage. The departments are: World (politics, development and environment), Ideas (findings and theory), Innovation (technology, design and business) and Culture (books, art and events). You can go straight to one department, or view the latest stories from every department on the homepage, color-coded according to which they fall under. There’s also a new tagging system- each article is tagged with relevant keywords, and a tag menu on the lefthand side of the page also allows you to search for all articles tagged with a specific keyword (“globalization,” for example, or “proof,” or “democracy”).

If you click on the yellow “Studio” button in the upper right corner of the site, you’ll see all slideshows, videos of Salon dialogues, Revolutionary Minds, an interactive rendition of the Universe of 2009 and more to stimulate the senses. The Zeitgeist, highlighting four of the top stories in science every day, and featured blog posts are still there, too.

Comments

Zuska, the book Taking on the Big Boys by Ellen Bravo is looking pretty good. I haven’t read that one yet. There’s a chapter online which details how the “big boys” operate against women.
From the chapter (free at http://www.ellenbravo.com/):
they
1) minimize (what problem?)
2) trivialize (THAT’s not a problem)
3) patronize (you don’t get it)
4) demonize (you’re fucked up)
5) catastrophize (your solution is DOOMZ!)
6) compartmentalize (someone else will suffer)

I’m wondering if the book comes with a step-by-step way of getting through each point IRL. I do love the catchy “We have to do more than smash the glass ceiling – we have to redesign the building.” But before I go buying another book on “feminist solutions” that tells me what I’m already intimately aware of and offers little in the way of practical solutions, I’m asking have you (or any readers) read the book?

JC, that’s a great summary of typical reactions to complaints of gender discrimination! I haven’t read the book you’re referring to – I actually wasn’t even aware of it. The info on amazon says the book offers solutions, but I think the question is what kind of solutions, and what are you looking for. Are you looking for what you can do as an individual to avoid, mitigate, minimize the impact of gender discrimination upon yourself and your career? Or are you looking for what you can do to organize for broader long-term systemic change to make things better across the board for all women? My gut feeling from the description I read is that the book may focus on the latter. Which is not a bad thing. We need that along with the “how do I survive this hellhole” type books. But maybe that isn’t what you were looking for?